Docket: Consumer and Utilities

Case Result: Arbitration clause that requires individual arbitration of claims is enforceable regardless of whether it prevents the effective vindication of statutory rights by making the cost of pursuing a remedy individually much greater than any individual litigant may recover.

Case Name:Bank of America v. Caulkett and Bank of American v. Toledo-Cardona

Case Issue: Does the Bankrupcy Code, which provides that a lien in excess of the value of the collateral is "void" - permit a Chapter 7 debtor to extinguish a mortgage lien on his personal residence where the collateral to which the lien attaches is found to have no value?

Case Result: Because the tax authority failed to inform the homeowner, who had paid more than 25 percent of her outstanding taxes that she has a legal right to enter into a payment agreement for the remaining unpaid taxes, the sale of her home violated due process and Pennsylvania law.

Case Result: Due process does not require the state utility commission to concult its staff when it accepts a settlement and commission is not prohibited from approving costs not included in the original rate making petition.

Case Result: Class action was improperly certified because the damages model relied upon did not match precisely the legal theory proposed and courts must consider merits issues at class certification when issues overlap.

Case Result: Court proceedings may not be held in secret, therefore district court must unseal entire record in company's anonymous challenge to public disclosure of a consumer complaint made about a product to the CPSC.

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Find the most recent cases in which AFL has advocated in courts nationwide for the rights of older persons, and filed AARP’s amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs that help courts decide precedent-setting cases.

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Our legal advocacy initiatives - conducted by AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL) - reflect more than 15 years of work in federal and state courts across the country. Through our efforts, we support the Foundation’s four priority areas: Hunger, Income, Housing and Isolation, and ensure that those 50 and older have a voice in the laws and policies that affect their daily lives.